November 19, 2010

Are you an Almond Joy person or do you prefer Mounds? Or, as a tragic option, do you eschew both, claiming that coconut is gritty and gross (I'm looking at you, Little Brother...)?

I consider myself a Mounds gal, but that's only because the whole almonds in an Almond Joy are so bulky and incongruent--there's no way to get a bit of almond in each bite unless you a)shove the whole thing in your mouth, or b)pop off the almonds and take a bite of candy bar followed by a nibble of almond. Ridiculous. If slivered or sliced almonds were used instead, I'd be all over it. Take note, Hershey's!

Having said all that, it's no surprise that I used sliced nuts in this Almond Joy-inspired cheesecake. Other magnificent components include a graham cracker crust riddled with coconut (which I consider a complete dessert in and of itself) and a creamy cake bedecked with chocolate chunks, toasted coconut, and a bit of coconut flavoring.

I'll admit that I'm not too keen on the flavor of almonds, but I do love the crunch the slivers provide. The amount of nuts used in this recipe is just right and there's none of that icky almond extract to muck up the flavor. What a relief.

Zagnut.

A few days after I made this, I had a Zagnut candy bar for the first time. Zagnut, where have you been all my life? Why do you taste so good and have such an awesome name? Crunchy peanut butter + toasted coconut = amazing. Because of this discovery, I think my next cheesecake endeavor will involve a peanut buttery crust and a purely coconut filling. Oh, yeah.

For filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Mix in coconut and extract . Fold in almonds. Transfer filling to crust. Bake until cake is puffed and no longer moves when pan is shaken, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool completely on rack.

Run small knife around sides of cake to loosen. Release pan sides. Sprinkle with garnishes before serving, if desired.

Yeah almond joys are weird with the full nut on top. Now a Zagnut, I love those, we find them in an old pharmacy near our home along with some other oldie but goodies. This cheesecake looks like a winner!

I hate to say it, but I was never a big fan of either almond joy or mounds. But, in the form of a cheesecake, that would drastically change things. This looks fantastic, especially with almonds in each bite!

I've never heard of Almond Joy or Mounds but I'm not much of a fan of whole almonds either =) This cheesecake sounds so good!! I love the sound of the crust, and I love that there's so much coconut in it!!

Zagnut is my all time favorite candy bar, and I'm finding them harder and harder to find. I guess that's good though because I eat too many of them when I do find them. :) That cheesecake looks delicious- I like both Almond Joy and Mounds, so I'm sure I'd love it!

You said the magic word - coconut :) And I would love to try a zagnut, you're right even the name sounds fantastic! Actually, come to think of it, I would really like to try and Almond Joy or a MOunds too.

Mounds has always been one of my favorite candy bars! I agree completely about the whole almond on top of the Almond Joy; maybe Hershey's will take note of the slivered almond idea! The cheesecake looks A MAY ZING!!

And the Zagnut brings back childhood memories of the Chick o Stick. It used to be another fave of mine as a kid!